The Belarusian leader participated in an international conference dedicated to Captive Nations Week. The event took place at the Victims of Communism Museum during the NATO Summit in Washington, where participants discussed how the legacy of totalitarianism affects current events in Eastern Europe.
In her speech, the Belarusian leader highlighted the consequences of communism for Belarus.
📎 “Russification: The Belarusian language faced discrimination, and the number of schools teaching in Belarusian decreased. There were deliberate efforts to destroy the culture. Lukashenka continues this policy”.
📎 “Mass repression: Hundreds of thousands of Belarusians were executed or sent to the Gulag. On a single night in 1937, the NKVD killed a hundred representatives of the national elite”.
📎 “Anti-Western agenda: After World War II, the United States and democratic countries were declared the new enemy. Today, Putin and Lukashenka refer to them as the ‘collective West’”.
📎 “Environment: Natural resources were depleted by the centrally planned economy. The Belarusian people and nature suffered the most from the Chornobyl disaster, which was a result of incompetent leadership”.
📎 “Economy: Private property was replaced by state ownership. Today, the most important industries in Belarus are owned by the state – in other words, by Lukashenka and his family”.
📎 “Human rights: There is no freedom of speech or association in Belarus. Just like in communist times, there are no independent media. Most NGOs have been banned and left Belarus, and civil society has been completely destroyed”.
📎 “Dictatorship: We haven’t had democracy in more than 70 years. We couldn’t elect political leaders or local officials who were simply appointed by the party, just as they are appointed by Lukashenka today”.
